About CWC

Like many people I first started writing poems when I was going through some hard times. Putting your thoughts down in a creative way somehow managed to take the sting out of the sadness. I progressed from poetry to short stories and then joined www.abctales.com. A wonderful writing community online.

Members would post writing prompts that would inspire me to write some interesting work. I wrote things that I never would have imagined even thinking of, but on reflection, saw my writing ability improve. It was that concept of being prompted to write, that made me realize that this could work in collaborative writing. I mulled over the idea for many years until one night it just made sense. I stayed up all night, noting down my plan and for the first time the idea became conceivable. The logistics were ironed out, a schedule was drawn up, then an advert was placed, looking for 25 writers. It only took 5 days to get together a team of people who were up for the challenge, then the fun really began!

I coordinated our pilot story; The Concierge, which has now been published and is available to buy from our e-store. From there, I started to get more story coordinators on-board to help manage the demand for further collaborations. Next we published Ambition, then ARK , and now our fourth collaboration Wytch Born, is in the editing stages. The projects keep coming and the demand keeps increasing.

I have come to realize that the success of this type of collaboration lies with the story coordinator. This person has to drive the project and be extremely organised to keep things on track. I think this is the key to getting a cohesive novel.

We currently have over 400 writers involved from 15 different countries. Their ages range from 17 to 74. This is what some of our writers have to say about the project so far...

Chris Chalmers - 27 - Melbourne, Australia

"Being part of something so creatively diverse and original has opened me up to a world of enjoyable challenges. Overcoming those challenges with talented people is an opportunity not to be missed, nor soon forgotten"

Moya Rooke - 70 - Lincolnshire, UK

"I saw a call for writers to work on a collaborative piece of work that would eventually become a book. Then I learned there were twenty five writers writing from nine different countries and that has made it one of the most interesting and rewarding projects in which I have been involved. Therefore, I would urge anyone who gets the opportunity to take it, secure in the knowledge that they will find it equally rewarding."

Suzanne Reid - 41 - Derbyshire, UK

"Writing as part of a team has been very exciting. Picking up and running with the baton of others ideas has been very liberating. With help and guidance from the story coordinator even novice writers like myself can take part."

Kaylee Kosakowski - 18 - Queens, New York

"Writing is one of the greatest creative outlets, and there is nothing more exciting than working with others who think the same. Working on a project such as this was such an experience - it is truly amazing how different minds create different paths to the same story. The process is enigmatic in the most alluring way, leaving even the writers on their toes. There is never a dull moment!"

Mandi Millen - 50 - Holargos, Greece

"Although my turn to write a chapter has not come yet, I am really enjoying watching the story unfold through the diverse thoughts, ideas and unique insights of the contributing writers. Such a collaborative project is a great challenge for any word nerds, like me, who want to challenge and stretch their writing skills and also connect with other writers from many different backgrounds. Roll on Chapter 13!"

Cristel Benitez - 18 - Buenos Aires, Argentina

"I didn't feel discouraged when my chapter was rejected, but I think this has a lot to do with the feedback I got from the story coordinator. In fact, at first it felt like: "Oh, well, this sounds interesting, let's sign up and see how it goes..." But now that I really had a shot at it, a first taste of how it actually works, I'm more eager for my next turn to write another chapter. Even when it wasn't selected, it was a fun write, and isn't that what it's all about? I have my whole life to write things and show them to people if I want, this is more like a game to me, and I play for the sake of playing."

Click to edit table header

CWC NEWS

CWC's next project will start in 2018. After almost 4 years, we are taking a much needed break to manage our numerous publications. Thank you for your patience!

Merchandise - CWC has now relesed it's 2017 design on a number of products. Take a look and see if there is something you like! each year we will feature a new design!